For Sale in Old Town: 'Quirky' Carl Street Studios Home for $1,850,000

By DNAinfo Staff on June 16, 2014 5:23am

CHICAGO — The Carl Street Studios house, the charming and quirky mansion designed by Edgar Miller, the renowned artist credited with founding the neighborhood now known as Old Town, is on the market for $1.85 million.

Originally built in the 1880s as a single-family home, 155 W. Burton Place was transformed in the 1930s by Miller and developer Sol Kogen into distinct studio spaces with stained glass windows, carved doors, sculptures, mosaics and frescoes.

A book was written about the home and other "handmade home" work of Miller, who the Tribune credited as a co-founder of Old Town, the artists' neighborhood, in his 1993 obituary.

Miller used the building as an art studio. Afterward it became an apartment collective and condominiums.

In 2009, restoration of three separate units wrapped up and they were combined into a single unit. The now 5,500-square-foot home features a two-story stained glass window.

"Our charge was to pull it all together," said architect Kathryn Quinn, who worked on the restoration. "We had to figure out how to stitch it together and while keeping all the character in place."

The second floor features a stone-floored foyer, a kitchen designed with a mosaic of found materials and tiles, a dining room, a living room and a breakfast room. A library is also on the floor, along with a conservatory that leads to a terrace.

The third floor features a family room with a wood-burning fireplace and two bedrooms.

The master suite is on the first floor.

The staircase and entrance leading to the unfinished roof deck features stained glass windows.

The basement features a sitting area with a fireplace and a utility room.